This invention relates to slant axis rotary mechanisms and, more particularly, to apparatus for machining the end walls on the housings employed in such mechanisms.
Prior art of possible relevance includes the commonly assigned, co-pending application of Donald F. Walker, Ser. No. 634,814, filed Nov. 24, 1975, and entitled "Method and Apparatus for Machining Housings For Slant Axis Rotary Mechanisms"; and the commonly assigned application of Goloff et al, Ser. No. 675,023, filed Apr. 8, 1976, and entitled "Apparatus For Machining End Housings".
As is well known, in four-cycle slant axis rotary mechanisms, the end walls interconnecting the radially inner and outer spherical walls are extremely difficult to form for a variety of reasons. For one, such walls appear to be conical and, in developed view, have sinusoidal characteristics as well.
Secondly, in many prior constructions, the machine marks extend on such walls generally circumferentially, which is parallel to the means direction of seal travel. As a consequence, the maintenance of a good oil film is made difficult, resulting in rapid seal wear.
These problems can be solved to a great degree through use of machining apparatus made according to either Walker or Goloff et al, identified above. Use of the Walker or Goloff et al apparatus is also slow by reason of the limitation to the use of cutting tools having a cutting surface with a radius equal to that of the apex seal to be used in the slant axis rotary mechanism considered tangentially to the rotor. Moreover, in the use of slant axis rotary mechanisms, particularly as engines, deflections occur in the housing and rotor parts and the Walker and Goloff et al apparatus can compensate for such deflections in the machining of the end walls only if deflections are generally conical in nature. They cannot compensate for deflections in the rotor due to translation, as opposed to tipping, or translation of the housing along the main shaft axis as opposed to tipping about the center point of the spherical rotor hub.